A jury has found that, though he was defamed by King County Councilwoman Jane Hague’s campaign, a supporter of challenger Richard Pope is not owed any compensation for a mailer sent prior to the 2007 election. …

King County’s unions on Wednesday notified County Executive Kurt Triplett that they were opposed to across-the-board unpaid furloughs for 2010 similar to those agreed to this year in response to a growing operating budget deficit. Many of the county’s unionized and non-union workers accepted 10 furlough days in 2009. The County Council was told Wednesday that general fund savings from the unpaid days off were expected to be $7 million. When then-County Executive Ron Sims proposed the furloughs last … …

Secretary of State Sam Reed said Wednesday he was pleased with a King County Superior Court judge’s ruling earlier in the day that rejected an attempt to block a public vote on expanded same-sex domestic partnership benefits in Washington state. …